Knowledge Connectedness in Geometry Problem Solving

Michael J. Lawson, Mohan Chinnappan

Our concern in this study was to examine the relationship between problem-solving performance and the quality of the organization of students' knowledge. We report findings on the extent to which content and connectedness indicators differentiated between groups of high-achieving (HA) and low-achieving (LA) Year 10 students undertaking geometry tasks. The HA students' performance on the indicators of knowledge connectedness showed that, compared with the LA group, they could retrieve more knowledge spontaneously and could activate more links among given knowledge schemas and related information. Connectedness indicators were more influential than content indicators in differentiating the groups on the basis of their success in problem solving. The tasks used in the study provide straightforward ways for teachers to gain information about the organizational quality of students' knowledge.

This is available to members of NCTM. If you are interested in a NCTM membership, join now. You may also purchase this article now for online access.